Texas Governor Rick Perry eyes 2016 run for the White House

Houston
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The 2012 presidential election hasn't even been decided yet, but some Republicans are looking at running for the presidency four years from now. Texas Governor Rick Perry is one of those possible GOP presidential contenders.

Recent polls suggest that the presidential race in November between the presumptive Republican nominee former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama is going to be a tight race. The latest Gallup Tracking poll has Romney on top by a single point, while a Rasmussen Reports survey shows the president leading by two points.

Despite the even margin between the Republican and the Democrat, some members in the GOP aren’t confident Romney can pull off a victory against the Democratic incumbent, which has led some to look ahead to the 2016 race for the White House.

In an interview with CBS News 11 (via Newsmax), Texas Governor Rick Perry, who was a frontrunner for the Republican nomination but then plummeted due to various debate gaffes, said he was interested in running for president in four years.

“2016 is way down the road, but I'll assure you one thing — if I decide to run for the presidency in 2016, I'll be in way before the summer of 2016, 2015 even,” stated Perry. “I love this country. As long as my health stays good, as it is, and my family is supportive, I'm certainly going to give it a good examination.”

When asked if he will run for re-election in two years, Perry responded that he will have to give it a serious perpension, but his “instincts are very positive towards it right now.”

Perry isn’t the first Republican to eye 2016. Hogan Gidley, a senior aide to former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, told MSNBC’s Chris Matthews (via The Hill) his camp has already had discussions about a 2016 presidential bid.

“I'm not going to say we haven't talked about it, of course, you look and you say what are you going to do in the future, a lot of people said 'prepare for 2016,’” said Gidley, Santorum’s national communications director.

Santorum himself hinted at a possible run for the GOP nomination in 2016 during an interview with Fox News about a potential bid. “I feel like a young man, and hopefully I feel like a young man four years from now.”